OKLAHOMA CITY – The Suns never gave themselves a chance Sunday night to beat Oklahoma City because they were giving the Thunder every chance to beat them.

Oklahoma City’s firepower needs little help the Thunder’s scoring opportunities were made even easier with fast breaks and follows. The Suns committed 23 turnovers for 30 Thunder points and allowed 17 offensive rebounds to the Thunder’s relentless big men for 29 second-chance points.

It added up to the Suns’ ninth consecutive losing visit to Chesapeake Energy Arena, where Oklahoma City won 124-103 to snap its three-game losing streak and give Phoenix its first consecutive losses.

The Suns already have three 20-turnover games in a 3-4 start, leading to them getting outscored on fast breaks when they want to be the high-tempo team.

“If we can’t take care of the ball or can’t get stops, then it’s definitely not going to allow us to play at the pace that we want to play at,” said Suns guard Brandon Knight, who matched his career high with eight turnovers to one assist.

The Suns starting lineup was dominated, except for Eric Bledsoe, who had a 28-point, 11-assist game with only two of the Suns’ turnovers. It was Bledsoe teaming with T.J. Warren, Alex Len, Jon Leuer and a rare Archie Goodwin appearance that wiped out an early 29-14 hole with a 15-0 Suns finish to the first quarter.

Bledsoe’s intensity was high for a 15-point first quarter that kept the Suns in the game even until halftime, when the Suns trailed 60-54 despite 14 turnovers.

“Eric Bledsoe is one of the fastest people I’ve ever seen in my life,” Thunder forward Kevin Durant said.

Bledsoe opened his scoring with a transition pull-up and a slam follow and tried to get a fourth-quarter rally going with another transition jumper and assist on a T.J. Warren dunk before the offense went more to Knight.

“I’m a different person this season and I’ve been showing through all the games,” Bledsoe said. “I’ve been trying to play hard every game. I just felt like my team needed me and that’s what I’m going to do every night. I’m going to try to pick it up if we’re lacking a little bit and I felt we came out lacking.

“It’s still early season so we’re still going to have those (turnover) plays because it’s the first time playing with each other. We’re going to get the hang of it.”

Bledsoe has fared well individually against Russell Westbrook since joining the Suns, shooting 51.0 percent from the field to Westbrook’s 37.5 percent in seven meetings. But Westbrook has won five of those games.

It was not just the usual scoring stardom of Durant (32 points) and Westbrook (21 points and 13 assists) that beat Phoenix. It was reserve guard Dion Waiters’ 13 first-half points with three steals that was followed up by backup power forward Enes Kanter’s 14 second-half points on perfect shooting.

On one play, Kanter rebounded a Suns misses, threw an outlet pass and still beat the entire Suns defense downcourt for an and-one finish.

“To beat a team as good as them on their home court, you’ve got to do a lot of stuff right,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “You’ve got to get the loose balls.

“We had a couple loose balls that we didn’t go aggressively enough for that just kind of bounced in front of us and they went after it and outmuscled and outhustled us during that stretch. Then, it’s hard to come back from a team that shoots the ball so well when there is no pressure on them with the lead.”

Hornacek warned before the game that the Suns could not afford to make silly turnovers or get into a half-court game against Oklahoma City’s length but both happened with four Thunder players getting at least three steals and Steven Adams blocking five shots.

“They were pretty aggressive,” Hornacek said of the Thunder. “They played the passing lanes but some of our passes are just soft. We don’t put any zip on them. You can’t do that against this team. They knock it loose from you. You can’t turn the ball over 23 times.”

Key moment: Trailing 62-58, the Suns allowed an 11-2 run during a stretch in which Markieff Morris went 1 for 5.

Key number: 23, Suns turnovers leading to 30 Thunder points

View from press row

Ronnie Price is strong and frustrated. His uniform had no chance to hold up against that. During a time out, Price walked toward the bench in frustration and ripped his jersey top from the neck down. Fortunately for him, Suns equipment manager Jay Gaspar carries a spare for each players and still has good enough wheels to fetch it quickly from the visiting locker room.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is fouled by Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) as he shoots in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015. Sue Ogrocki/AP